Buildings are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The $5.8 trillion-a-year building and construction sector, including ongoing operations of buildings, is responsible for 38% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions according to the United Nations’ Environment Program. Our guest, Håvard Haukeland, is co-founder of Autodesk Spacemaker and a senior director at Autodesk, the pioneer and leading provider of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and other design tools used by architects and contractors. Autodesk’s tools also power many of the breakthroughs in animation and special effects. Spacemaker is an artificial intelligence platform that can analyze architectural designs to identify potential improvements that reduce a building’s power requirements during its operational life. The tool was introduced in October, and it works with other Autodesk tools to speed the green design process and enable efficiencies during construction.
The International Energy Agency estimates that emissions associated with construction and buildings needs to fall by 6% a year until 2030 if humanity is to avoid crossing the Paris Accord’s target 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold that represents increased likelihood of disastrous climate impacts and extreme weather. And we are not making the necessary progress despite the fact that green buildings are projected to account for $24.7 trillion in new construction by 2030.
Architects and contractors need better tools to design and test buildings, plan efficient building projects, and optimize the use of materials while minimizing waste. Spacemaker’s operational energy analysis reviews a building’s design, predicts operational energy use as the architect works, and suggests energy efficiency improvements provided by different types of insulation or different kinds of windows based on the dimensions of the entire building.
You can learn more about Autodesk and Spacemaker at autodesk.com/spacemaker.
